


Petal Rebel Pink

by SullenDragon



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Crossdressing, Drag Queens, M/M, Sentinel Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 10:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13832244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SullenDragon/pseuds/SullenDragon
Summary: Simon's got an undercover assignment for Jim.





	Petal Rebel Pink

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: "crossdressing & costumes" I just hope this fits the bill.

“Gentlemen, I’m setting up an undercover operation.”

*

“I’d make a great drag queen, Jim!”

“Yeah, Chief, I’m sure you would. You just don’t fit the damn pattern. Next time.” Jim manfully resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Sandburg acted like he was God’s gift to thespians. And like he was invincible. There was no way Simon would have sent him in as the bait in this op, even if the Drag Killer hadn’t made clear his preferences for bigger, butch-er victims.

*

On Friday, he made himself pretty comfortable in the big dressing room that the club had set aside for the participants of that night’s the drag show.

“Jim!” His head snapped up and he nearly dropped the open tube of lipstick on the floor. He snatched it back and capped it. That was Sandburg’s voice, and Sandburg was supposed to be keeping busy snooping around the club. Well, he was _supposed_ to be doing absolutely nothing case-related, but Jm knew Blair and snooping was Blair’s third-favorite hobby.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if “blowing everyone’s cover” was also on the agenda, because Sandburg was standing right outside the door, apparently interested in chatting.

Jim set the makeup quickly－carefully!－back into his bag and draped a scarf over the big clutch. He’d only been on the scene for two hours, barely enough time to give his entry information and meet the other entrants, but he knew that bronzer left unattended was fair game.

“Hey, Chief, what’s wrong?” he said as he opened the door, keeping his voice below the rumble of conversation.

Blair didn’t speak, and Jim remembered that his eyelids were blue and he’d only half finished his lipstick. He glanced past Blair and into the hall, wondering how he could have let Sandburg convince him that he could handle being on hand during this operation.

Still without speaking, Blair thrust a bag into Jim’s hands. “Your backup wig. Si－ _they_ said it might be better. Sorry it took so long.” The zippered bag crinkled, and while the bag certainly smelled like synthetic hair, the wig wasn’t the only thing in the bag. Leather, gun oil, steel. Had Simon decided to let him carry? Jesus, he must be getting nervous.

“Thanks－oh, hey, Yolanda.” The head of the drag show appeared behind Jim, and her very thin eyebrow was raised in an unmistakable question.

“You press?” she asked, eyeballing Blair like he’d come in on the sole of someone’s shoe.

“No ma’am,” he started. “I’m just…” He gestured to the bag in Jim’s hands. “Bringing Jim his wig?”

Yolanda’s expression cleared instantly, and Jim would swear she was almost smiling. She elbowed Jim. “Oooh, our Kimmy’s got a man, huh? Little short, don’cha think?” she said in an aside, though not quietly enough that Blair could miss hearing her. “Oh, well, the cute makes up for that.”

“No he’s not－I mean. He’s…” Yolanda gave him the eyebrow. “He’s the right height.”

She grinned, a big genuine grin that smudged her purple lipstick against her teeth, and turned around to the room at large. “Okay, ladies! Fifteen minutes! Check the schedule one more time－I don’t want Dani half-dressed when it’s her turn tonight!” The room at large chuckled, Dani blushed and saluted, and Blair squeaked.

“Bye Jim!” He was halfway down the corridor before Jim could even consider saying goodbye.

*

The show itself went without a hitch. The participants all remembered their places, Dani was fully dressed, and Jim didn’t trip over his heels… or flash his thigh holster at anyone.

With the full skirt and all its trappings, he’d felt safe enough carrying, but he wasn’t wearing a headset. He ducked outside the club when the show concluded, avoiding the dressing room, which was sure to be bustling. He couldn’t run the risk of actually signaling any of the Major Crimes crew, but he met Blair’s eyes as he approached the exit. That was as close to requesting backup as he was going to get.

The handbag full of bricks to the back of the head was not exactly unexpected, since each of the previous victims had shown signs of blunt force trauma, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

It didn’t knock him out, not quite. Simon’s bellow was a relief, though.

“Cascade PD! Put the purse down!” Of course, it was never that easy, and his voice just wasn’t working. She had a knife clipped into her sleeve, and it dropped down into her hand as she lowered the bag.

With a flick of her wrist, she had the blade pressed against his throat, and a lock of the bright blond wig fell to the pavement below him. He was still on his knees after the blow to the head, and the woman was crouching behind him.

“How far… do you think you’re gonna get?” he rasped out. She flinched, and the pale hand trembled at the edge of his vision.

“Hold it!” Sandburg yelled from the far end of the alley. Jim couldn’t decide whether he was furious that the kid was getting in the middle of things (again!) or relieved because as often as he waltzed into trouble, Blair usually managed to talk his way back out of it, with Jim at his side. “He can’t die like this!” There was an odd squeak to his voice. Jim couldn’t turn to look, but he wondered if Blair might be coming down with something.

“Don’t move!” the woman yelled, turning a little, dragging Jim around by the wig－and the ear. “I have a knife!”

“Yeah, honey, I know. Everybody within three blocks knows..” Aw, jeezus, that was supposed to be a Gay Voice. It was pretty terrible.

Jim could see him, just barely, taking small, slow steps toward Jim and his captor, hands waving the whole time. “If you want to kill him, hon, that’s fine. You just gotta fix his makeup first!” He tossed something small and shiny into the air. The tube of lipstick arced across the remaining distance between them and the woman flinched away, dropping the knife to the ground and making an instinctual, two-handed grab for the lipstick tube.

Jim snatched the knife up off the ground and rolled away from the woman as she grabbed for him, basically hiding behind Simon as the captain holstered his gun and moved to subdue the Drag Killer. As soon as the cuffs were on, Jim turned his attention to Blair, who was hovering nearby, looking sheepish. He straightened up, yanking the wig off entirely and rolling it up.

“Pretty risky, Chief.” He reached up to swipe at his neck and found a little smear of blood mixed in with the foundation. He moved to lean against the alley wall next to Blair, who turned and met his eyes.

“Sorry.” He cringed. “But hey, not dead, right?”

“Not sure how I would’ve lived it down, getting killed wearing hot pink lipstick.” He leaned in a little closer, trying to lighten the mood. He was fine, no one else was going to die because of this particular person.

“Hey, now. It’s a good color for you. Might have to get some more.” Blair put his hands on Jim’s shoulders and leaned up to press their mouths together. “That one’s evidence now.” He kissed Jim again, and Jim had to lean back, nearly bashed his head against the brick wall in an attempt to get the last word.

“Not ‘cause you like it. Only because it saved my ass.”

Blair smiled a pink-stained smile and a long blond wig fell, forgotten, to the ground.

**Author's Note:**

> A little different from my usual style. Maybe that's a good thing? Well, "finished" is different from my usual style, so yes, good.  
> side note: titles are hard and makeup colors get weird names.


End file.
